This is Not Goodbye
by neeny16
Summary: 10 Years have passed since a human child escaped into the Monster world and changed the way monsters think. When Sully and Mike find out that Boo is moving house, they are desperate to see her again. But will she remember them?
1. Chapter 1

_AN: Hi and welcome to my Monsters Inc. fan fiction. I know I have been rubbish with my other two fics, but I've completely lost inspiration for them, so they're up for adoption if anyone wants them. The reason I've written the fic in this way is because in loads of the MI ones that I've read, Boo just accepts Sully and Mike no matter how long it's been. I'm not slating them, because I find them really sweet, but I just wanted to write one with another beginning. _

_I own nothing; any recognisable characters belong to Disney and Pixar._

**Chapter 1**

Mike Wazowski sighed and leant back in his chair, flexing his cramped, aching fingers. He had spent the last four hours sorting out a backlog of paperwork, filing it first chronologically and then by country into brightly coloured folders. Now he was finally done and could focus on more important things. Like what to wear on tonight's date with Celia. Now that they had the kids they hardly ever got to go on dates so he wanted to make it special. As he was pondering this, his office door flew open and slammed into the wall making him jump and fall backwards off his chair.

"Mike! We gotta hurry!" it was Sully looking extremely agitated.

"Sully you big oaf! You gotta knock before coming in her! You scared the life outta me!"

"I'm sorry but we have to move! Roz just told me that Boo put her house up for sale!"

"You're telling me that a thirteen year old put a house up for sale?"

"No! Her parents! Mike I'm serious, we have to go before it's too late!" With that he took off out of the door and down the corridor.

"Sully! Wait up!" Mike yelled. He had to stop him before he went bursting in there. It had been ten years for god's sake! The kid would be a teenager now! Mike caught up with Sully just in time to see him press the button to activate the door.

"Sull, no!" he shouted and tackled him, regretting it instantly as they both crashed through the door and landed in a heap.

Mary frowned in concentration, her tongue poking out as she sketched frantically. She had had that dream again. Well, it was more of a nightmare really. It was always the same: a child would be lying in bed, and then a ferocious monster with horns and fangs roared, terrifying both her and the child. It would then turn to her and that was the point where she would wake up; trembling, terrified but safe. The sketchbook that she was using was full of her dreams, some good, some bad but more frequently, terrifying. She added a final stroke of her pencil and leant back to look at her work. It was almost a perfect representation of her dream, except…there was something almost familiar about the creature she had drawn and Mary couldn't help but think she had seen it somewhere before. As she leant in closer to look, her closet door burst open, making her jump out of her skin and fall out of her chair.

What she saw as her eyes automatically darted to find the cause of the commotion made her freeze and her eyes to widen as terror gripped her, clawing icily at her stomach, paralysing her. It was the monster from her nightmares sprawled on the floor of her bedroom and all she could do was stare as he slowly picked himself up and shook himself. His eyes opened and almost immediately found her. A frown appeared on his face and he made his way towards her. Mary found she had the use of her limbs again as adrenaline coursed through her body like an electric shock and she leapt to her feet, darted to the other side of the room and pressed herself against the wall. It looked momentarily confused then changed direction so it was coming towards her again.

"S-stay away from me!" she ordered trying to sound confident and fearless, but knowing that her voice was coming out as a terrified squeak. However, it did have the desired effect; the monster stopped dead. Then to her complete and utter amazement it opened its mouth and spoke:

"Boo? What's wrong? It's me!"

Before she could even think about how she might respond to this bizarre statement another voice came out from behind it and a small, green, ball – like monster stepped into view.

"Sully back off." It spoke surprisingly gently and moved with exaggerated slowness to lay its hand on the big one's arm.

"But Mike!" The blue one protested.

"Come on Sull" it responded more firmly, tugging its arm "You're scaring her to death." The green one managed to pull the big one back a few paces before it pulled its arm out of the green one's grip and spoke looking bewildered.

"I don't understand Mikey. What's wrong with her?"

The green one – Mikey apparently – slapped his forehead and responded in a frustrated tone:

"What's wrong with her is it's been ten years since we've seen her and you just burst into her room in the middle of the night! You've scared the life outta her!" The big one – Sully – turned to his companion angrily.

"Well what was I supposed to do Mike? Just let her go and not say goodbye?"

"Yes Sully, that's EXACTLY what you were supposed to do! Let the kid go on with her life and you do the same!"

"I can't DO that!" he bellowed back.

"Oh I know, because it's all about YOU. You can't do what's unselfish! What's right!"

Sully turned away and roared in frustration and anger, completely destroying what was left of Mary's nerves, releasing the hold the terror had on her vocal cords allowing her to emit a petrified scream that mingled with his. Sully stopped dead and then both monsters turned to face her, Sully cringing because this was what he dreaded the most: Boo was half crouched against the wall, hands pressed against her mouth, eyes wide and horrified. Even though he knew he was the reason she was so afraid, Sully found himself moving towards her, desperate to comfort her in any way. It was only her flinch and Mikey's warning hand on his arm that stopped him.

"Take it easy kid, we're going." Mike said softly.

"Mike, no!" Sully protested.

"Sull, look she's terrified, you're not doing any good staying. Just leave her be."

"Boo." Sully whispered brokenly as Mikey dragged him to the closet and pushed him through. He turned to look one more time and seeing that she was still in the half crouch against the wall, sighed.

"I'm so sorry Boo. He just misses you so much." He then walked into the closet and pulled the door shut behind him.


	2. Chapter 2

_AN: Thanks to __Quavera Tava who reviewed my first chapter; it made my day. Thanks to anyone else who has read it and stayed silent. Now, without further ado, I give you the next chapter!_

_I own nothing; any recognisable characters belong to Disney and Pixar._

**Chapter 2**

Mary did not know how long she crouched against the wall, just staring at the closet door, not able to believe what had just taken place. It was impossible, yet there was no denying it had happened. She couldn't even fool herself into thinking it was a dream; there were two sets of dirty, monster footprints on her bedroom floor, a little smudged, but undeniably not human. It was only as the weak morning sun began to struggle through her blinds that she dared move from spot on the floor. Stretching her stiff limbs she walked to the window, and pulled the blind up. Seeing her perfectly ordinary street, with nothing strange in sight made her feel more normal, but she still felt on edge; the sound of the pipes rattling slightly made her jump and when one of her parents opened their door, she almost cried out. _'Stop it' _she told herself firmly, _'You're being ridiculous. Everyone knows monsters only come out at night.' _As true as this statement was, it didn't make her feel any better about having to open her closet to get dressed.

Swallowing, she walked slowly over to it, tense and ready to leap back at any moment. Swallowing audibly, she reached out her hands, flexing her fingers several times, before in one swift move, yanked her closet door open and turned away, covering her face. When nothing happened, she risked a peep and then felt such a huge rush of relief that she laughed out loud. There was nothing there! Nothing! Just her clothes hanging up neatly and her shoes lying in a jumbled pile at the bottom. Still laughing she picked a pink t shirt and a pair of jeans and brushed out her long hair in the mirror inside the door, holding it back with an Alice band.

"Honey! Breakfast!" her mother shouted from downstairs.

"Coming!" Mary shut the door and started for the hall, then after hesitating for a moment, pushed her chair over and leant it against the door. Just to be on the safe side.

_Meanwhile in Monstropolis…_

Sully had had a similar night to Mary. He had spent it sitting in front of her door; head in his hands, unable to get her terrified face out of his head. It was as though they had never met, she had truly forgotten them. Mike had spent the night pacing back and forth in front of him, muttering so fast that only occasional words and phrases were understandable:

"We left it too long…well that's obvious…we could try….no! That's stupid…..poor kid…well we could…." And so it went on. Eventually Sully spoke: "Mike stop." His voice sounded low and croaky. Mike paused and turned to face him, then felt a pang of pity as he saw his best friend's expression. His fur was a shade paler than normal and his cheeks looked damp. But it was his eyes that got Mike. They looked bloodshot and weary after the sleepless night, that was expected, but it was the defeat and sorrow that they were filled with. It was then that Mike knew that something had to be done. Just as he came to that conclusion, the door flew open and Mike spun around, only to come face to face with his enraged wife.

"MICHAEL WAZOWSKI! YOU HAD BETTER HAVE A GOOD EXPLANATION FOR THIS!" She bellowed, her snakes hissing and rattling in unison. Mike gulped.

"Schmoopsie, I'm sorry! I had to do some-" but she cut him off before he could finish.

"Last night was supposed to be about US! I thought something awful had happened and so I come back here to check on you and THIS is what I find! You and your _friend _just sitting!"

"Celia please, Sully went to see Boo, you know the kid we let through ten years ago? Only she didn't remember us and got really scared and Sully was really upset and…"

Celia peered around him and saw Sully sitting on the floor looking the picture of dejection and gently pushed Mike aside and knelt by him.

"You ok Sully?" she asked. He looked up and with effort managed to summon a small smile.

"Yeah. I just thought she'd remember me."

"Well, maybe if you try again?"

"No, I don't think so. She was scared enough this time, I don't want to do that to her again." Sighing, he got to his feet and stretched with a groan. "Well, I guess I should go get ready for the day. I'll see you guys later." He lumbered out of the door, rubbing his neck.

"Oh poor Sully. Mike what are we going to do?" Celia turned to her husband. He looked determined.

"I have a plan."

_Back in the human world…_

Mary had eaten breakfast with her parents, managing to shrug off any questions about how tired she looked or the amount of times she yawned into her cereal. Luckily her parents had spent most of the night in the room that they had soundproofed and jokingly named 'The Adults Only Zone' so she didn't have to answer any awkward questions about the roars and screams that must have been coming out of her room in the night. She had already decided not to tell them about it. They wouldn't believe her anyway, they would assume it was just a vivid nightmare and move on. Eventually her mum left for work and her dad disappeared into his study. Sometimes Mary hated it when this happened because she wouldn't see them all day. But not today. She had a plan.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Once again Mary was sat in her room, head bent over her sketchbook. She wasn't drawing this time though she had been in the middle of sketching the monster – Sully – and his friend but had become caught in her memories of the night before….

"_S-stay away from me!"_

"_Boo? What's wrong? It's me!"_

Why had the monster called her 'Boo'? She couldn't ever recall being called that before. And 'It's me'? She had never laid eyes on this monster before in her life, well, except in her nightmares. It was very puzzling. There had also been a look in his eyes she couldn't quite place; it had almost looked like _concern. _But was it concern for her? It couldn't be. And the way his friend had pulled him away, had not let him approach her. She groaned it frustration and put her head into her hands gripping her hair, almost pulling it out at the roots. She had a plan, but could not put it into place until that night. She had decided she needed to stay up and see if the monsters came back. She didn't know if they would try after last night and most of her hoped that they wouldn't. But she couldn't deny that she was curious. She sighed as all of this ran through her head, picked up her pencil and started sketching again.

"_I'm so sorry Boo. He just misses you so much."_

_Back in Monstropolis…_

Mike paced back and forth, brow creased, fingers tapping out a repetitive rhythm on his chin. He had a plan, but didn't know if it would work. She had been so scared and he didn't want to take the risk of pushing her any further away. Then again, it had been Sully that she was really scared of so maybe she would respond more positively to him. His plan was to go and see her alone and try and convince her to just _talk _to Sully, even if it was through the closet door. He knew how much it would mean to his friend to just say goodbye, even if he couldn't see her again. Celia had been watching him pace back and forth for the last hour and was getting increasingly worried.

"Googly Bear?" she said tentatively "Maybe you should take a break. You haven't eaten since yesterday."

"I'm fine Schmoopsie Poo." His stomach gurgled "Well, I am a little hungry."

"Please Googly." She implored "Just eat something." He turned and smiled that cocky smile that had drawn her in on their first date.

"I will, don't worry. I've just figured out what to do!"

"What? What are you going to do?"

"I'm gonna go and see the kid myself. Tonight!"

"Michael, are you sure that's a good idea? Maybe you should leave it a few nights, let her calm down."

"No, I have to do this now, while I still can."

_That night…_

Mary yawned deeply and rubbed at her eyes, trying desperately to stay awake. It was midnight and there had been no sign of the monsters returning. Even though she had sort of wanted them to come back, she was still deeply relieved that they hadn't. She hadn't forgotten the nightmares she had been plagued with or how scared she had felt the night before. Yawning again, she tried to focus on her book, which was becoming increasingly difficult as her eyes became heavier and the words seemed to be jumping all over the page. Slowly, her chin dropped onto her chest her hands lost their grip on the book making it fall into her lap with a thud.

_In Monstropolis…_

"This is it." He turned to Celia. "Kiss for luck?" She smiled, leant down and kissed him hard.

"Good luck Googly."

He turned, took a deep breath, opened the closet door a crack and then peered in. He saw Boo half sitting; half laying on the bed, her long black hair fanned out on the pillow, a book open on her lap. She was fast asleep. He opened the door wider and slipped in, gently closing the door behind him. He looked around at the once familiar bedroom. It had changed quite a bit. Instead of the childish patterned wallpaper adorned with wobbly drawings, the walls were painted a soothing blue with a couple of posters. The light was coming from a desk by the window and he wandered over there and curiously opened the sketchbook to a random page. What he saw made his blood go cold. It was a very realistic drawing of Sully. Only it wasn't the Sully that he knew. This Sully was towering way over his usual height, his eyes glaring, his expression contorted into an almost caricature style of rage. But what made Mike freeze was that who the drawing Sully's rage was directed at. Cowering in the corner of the page was a tiny girl wearing a pink dress and her hair in pigtails.

"Oh Boo." He breathed "Why, out of all the things you could of remembered did you have to remember this?"

Before he could think any more on this, he heard a gasp from behind him. He slammed the book shut and spun guiltily to see Boo sitting straight up, breathing deeply and shaking. And apparently unaware that he was even in the room.

"Kid, you ok?" He asked cautiously.

Her head snapped up and she froze, her eyes widening.

"Wait! Don't run!" he begged, before she could move. "I just wanna talk to you, I promise, I won't hurt you!"

She swallowed, took a deep breath and to his surprise spoke:

"Ok."

"Ok?" he had to make sure she had actually spoken.

"Ok. You can speak…But don't come any closer!" The last part emerged as a panicked shout.

"I promise." She nodded.

"So what did you want to talk to me about?"

_AN: Dun, dun, duuuuuuuun. What will Mike say to Mary? Will she listen? Will she ever remember what happened all those years ago? Find out the answer to these questions in the next chapter! _


	4. Chapter 4

_AN: __Quavera Tava brought something in the last chapter to my attention: How come Mary is willing to talk to Mike? Thank you for that, I'll try and explain that in this chapter . This one's a bit dialogue-y, but bear with it for now, there should be a bit more happening in upcoming chapters._

**Chapter 4**

_The room was cosy, softly illuminated by a nightlight. But whose room was it? Her room? No, not hers, someone else's; there was another child in the bed. She heard footsteps and turned to see the monster coming towards them; a dark, hulking shape, with glowing eyes. Her heart sped up in fear and she backed up, only to come up against the wall. It stretched to its full height and roared, waking the child, whose resulting scream mingled with hers. The monster turned to face her, as it always did, but this time it was different. There was an unfamiliar expression in its eyes as it reached for her._

Mary sat up with a gasp, her heart racing as though she had been running and she took deep breaths trying to calm it. 'Just a dream' she told herself. 'Just a dream'.

"Kid, you ok?" A voice came from her desk and she immediately turned to see the green, one eyed monster from the night before, standing in front of her chair looking wary. Her first instinct was to run and he seemed to have guessed that because his next words were:

"Wait! Don't run! I just wanna talk to you, I promise, I won't hurt you!" He seemed sincere, but could she trust him? She thought back to the night before when he had made the big one leave and spoken to her so gently. She also had a good feeling about this one. She somehow knew he wouldn't hurt her. She swallowed, took a deep breath and replied:

"Ok". Her reply seemed to have surprised the monster because he blinked before saying:

"Ok?"

"Ok. You can speak…But don't come any closer!" she added as an afterthought, not really comfortable with his current proximity. Especially after the nightmare she had just had.

"I promise." She nodded. She was ready to know what was going on.

"So what did you want to talk to me about?" She pushed herself into a sitting position and drew up her legs, hugging her knees to her chest. The monster took a breath.

"First I need to know: Am I familiar to you at all? Did you recognise either of us last night?" She shook her head.

"I only recognised the other monster, your friend, from the nightmares I've been having." Mike nodded, he had thought as much.

"Looks like I'm gonna have to start at the beginning then. I'm Mike and the monster I was with last night is called Sully and he's a good guy. He got really attached to you in the time you spent with us. You used to call him 'Kitty' and..."

"Wait a second." She interrupted. "The time I spent with you? You mean…I've been to…wherever you've come from?"

"Uh-huh. You spent a day and a night in Monstropolis, kid. Shook things up quite a bit too." He said with a wry grin.

"How could I have been to a different world and not remember it?"

"Search me. Anyway, you came through to our world because another monster left your door active in a station on the scare floor." At her confused expression he said "Ok, the jobs of me, Sully and a whole bunch of other monsters was to collect the screams of kids to use as energy. To do this, we'd go into kids' rooms through their closet doors and scare them. Though the truth was, we were scared of you too; we were told that a single touch from a human child could kill a monster."

"So, you and your friend scare children for a living and you wonder why I'm afraid of you?" She said, trying to wrap her head around all of this information.

"I know, I know it's messed up. We actually found out that laughs hold more energy than screams, so there you go. Anyway, you came through and scared Sull half to death. He didn't have a chance to put you back 'cos the other monster came back and so he ran to find me. You got away from him, for the first of many times, and caused havoc in a restaurant. We brought you to our place and that's when you started growing on Sully. The next day we took you to work to try and get you back home, but we couldn't find your door and you kept running off. And then, you remember that monster I mentioned before? The one who left your door in the station? Yeah, well he was called Randall Boggs and he was nasty."

Mary felt a shiver travel down her spine when she heard the name 'Randall Boggs' and hugged her knees closer. Mike noticed.

"Yeah, you never liked him. He was trying to kidnap you to steal all of your screams. He had left your door out again as a trap, hoping we'd put you back and he could take you. Only it ended up being me he took. Sully rescued me and we were about to run away, when he decided he had to run to the boss, Waternoose for help. Waternoose didn't listen and made Sull do a scare demo. That's practicing scaring on a test dummy." He added. "You wouldn't stay with me and ran after him, only to be terrified when he roared and scared the boy in the bed – hey are you ok?"

For Mary had turned sheet white and clapped her hand to her mouth.

"Oh my god." She breathed. "That's the nightmare I've been having. That's exactly what happens: I'm in a room with another child in a bed, the monster comes in and scares him then turns to me."

"Figures you would only remember that part."

"Sorry."

"It's not your fault kid. Well anyway, that's what happened. Sully heard you screaming and stopped. He tried to calm you down but you ran away, straight into Waternoose's arms. It turned out he was in on the plan with Randall and had me and Sully banished to the Himalayas. We were taken in by the abominable snowman, but Sully was so upset he barely noticed. He was really beating himself up about scaring you. Something clicked though, when the snowman started talking about a village with kids and he went off down the mountain on a sledge. I was mad at first, about the whole thing but I followed him and found him being beaten up by Randall. We got away, but he chased us through the door transporting system and through several doors. He had Sully hanging off the edge of a door at one point, but you started hitting him with a bat! We got him and threw him through a door. When we got back to the scare floor, Waternoose was waiting for us with the CDA, that's Child Detection Agency."

"So, wait a sec, I wasn't afraid of the monst- Sully anymore?"

"No! He rescued you! So we got to the scare floor and I distracted Waternoose and the CDA while Sully got you to your door. Waternoose saw you and ran after you. He made a speech about how he would kidnap a thousand kids before he let the company die. I lead the CDA straight to him and recorded it; we had actually leaded him into the test room! He was taken away and we took you home. Sully was so sad about having to say goodbye and well…so was I. After that, they shredded your door, because they couldn't run the risk of you coming back, now that you knew how."

"Then…how'd you get through this time?"

"Ah, that was all my work. I knew how much Sully missed you and rebuilt your door for him. He came back to see you a few months after we said goodbye, but then got too busy to come again. He never forgot though kid."

Mary was silent, her mind racing, trying to take in the enormity of what she had been told. If what Mike had told her was true, then she had trusted and maybe even loved this Sully. It sounded like he had risked his job and life to help her, so why couldn't she remember? She squeezed her eyes shut and thought the word 'Kitty' over and over, to try and remember, something, anything. Even to conjure up a brief image or sound. Sadly, the only thing she managed to conjure up was a headache. Mike was watching her closely.

"Still nothing?" She shook her head and he sighed disappointedly.

"I'm sorry!" She cried, near tears "I'm trying, I really am!"

"Hey, it's okay! This was only the first stage and Mike Wazowski does not give up easily! But right now, I have to go home. Celia's waiting for me and I haven't seen my kids in two days. I'll be back tomorrow for stage two if that's ok?"

Eager to know more, Mary nodded.

"Ok then. How about I bring Sully along, just to see if he jogs your memory now you know everything." Mary bit her lip, the thought of the other monster still frightened her, but he sounded so nice. Eventually she nodded.

"Ok. Bring him." She nodded, though nibbled her lip pensively, a crease between her eyebrows.

"Don't worry." He said noticing this. "I'll tell him he can't get too close. If it's too much he can just stick his head in."

She smiled. "Oh, one more thing?"

"Shoot."

"You said he was too busy to come and see me before, but why now? I mean was it just a whim or what?"

"No kid, it was because he heard you were moving. Once you leave he'll never be able to see you again. He just wanted to say goodbye."

"Well, we won't be going for a while. No – one's come to look at the house yet and we haven't found one that we like yet."

"Well that's ok then! Now I do have to go, so see ya!"

"Goodbye. And thank you…Mike."

He grinned waved and then disappeared through her closet door.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"You did WHAT?" Sully exclaimed, staring at Mike as though he had never seen him clearly before.

"I went and talked to the kid." He stated calmly. "She was ok as long as I kept my distance."

"So is she ok with us now? Can I go and see her?" he asked eagerly. Mike looked awkward.

"Um, sort of. You can go and see her, but only if you keep your distance and I'm going too."

"She's still afraid." It was more of a statement than a question, but Mike answered him.

"Yeah. The only memory she has of the whole thing is that scare demo." He admitted "She's been having nightmares about it apparently." Sully's whole body sagged in disappointment and he ran a hand through the fur on top of his head.

"Hey, hey, it's ok. Last night was only phase one of my brilliant plan. Phase two comes next."

"Do I dare ask what phase two is?"

"You are phase two."

"I – what?"

"You are phase two. Just follow my lead and you'll be fine. Now come on! She's expecting us!" He beckoned Sully over to the door and stuck his head round.

"Knock! Knock!" he said.

Mary looked up from her position on the bed when she heard her closet door open. She had been looking through one of the drawing pads she had had as a young child to see if there was anything to help her remember. Mike was peering round the door:

"Knock! Knock!" he said.

"Come in." She said, setting the book aside, feeling a leap of apprehension in her chest. Her nervousness must have showed on her face because Mike smiled reassuringly and said:

"Don't worry kid; we're sticking to your rules." He stepped in and stopped just in front of the door "Now, Boo –"

"It's Mary." She interrupted.

"What?"

"My name. It's Mary."

"Right, Mary. I brought the big guy along just as promised, so don't freak out. Ready?" Taking a deep breath, she nodded. He looked behind him and spoke:

"Come on Sull. She's ready." He then stepped aside and ducking his head slightly, the monster walked over the threshold and into her room. As he stepped forward, Mike reached behind him and closed the closet door.

Mary felt her breath catch in her throat as Sully straightened up, looking her in the eyes. Even though Mike had promised, even though she knew that he wouldn't hurt her, she still felt a thrill of fear when she saw him. She took a deep breath, held it for a moment and then slowly released it, feeling the panic fade slightly. Mike had been watching her closely.

"You ok Mary?"

"Yeah. I think so. So what's stage two of your plan?" She forced herself to pull her gaze away from Sully's. He grinned cockily and said.

"This is it."

"What do you mean exactly?" She asked, looking at Sully to see if he knew. Sully shrugged and smiling said:

"Beats me. I know just as much as you do." Mary smiled shyly back seeing the kindness in his eyes and wondered how she could only remember the scary memory of him. Suddenly, they all heard footsteps coming up the stairs and along the landing towards Mary's room.

"Quick! Back in the closet!" She hissed in a panic. Both monsters rushed back to the door and slipped through, pulling it to. There was a knock on her bedroom door.

"Mary? It's me." Her mum called from outside. Mary swallowed and trying to control her voice called back:

"Come in!" Her mum walked in and smiled.

"Hi sweetie, I just came to say that dad and I will be going to bed soon, so is there anything you need before we go?"

"No, I'm ok. Had any luck with the house hunting?"

"Actually we did find somewhere quite promising. Your dad is going to ring the owners up tomorrow to arrange for us to look around it."

"Sounds good. It's going to be strange, living somewhere different after 13 years. And we have so much stuff to sort out!"

"Oh, speaking of stuff to pack, I have a box of some of your old things that I'd like you to sort out for me."

"What sort of stuff?"

"Old toys, books, drawings. Stuff like that."

"Ok then, will do."

"Great! I'll be right back with it!" With that, she left the room. Mary sighed in relief. That had been close. A minute later her mum reappeared with a cardboard box taped shut. On the side was written 'Mary's Things'.

"Here you go honey. I'll leave you to it." She kissed the top of Mary's head and left the room. Mary counted to ten and then called out softly:

"She's gone. You can come out."

The monsters stepped carefully out, checking warily for any sign of Mary's mum. When it was obvious that it was just Mary, they settled back into their old positions.

"So." Said Mary. "What was that you were saying about stage 2?"

"I was saying that this is stage 2." Replied Mike.

"Yeah, but what is 'this'. I don't understand."

"This situation is stage 2; you getting more comfortable with Sully. Last night I asked you whether I could bring him with me to assess how much you'd calmed down. Even if you'd said no I would've still brought him." Mary's mouth dropped open, but it was Sully who spoke.

"Mike you can't do that! What if when you brought me along she freaked out even more and wouldn't let you in again? I might never have seen her again."

"I knew what I was doing." Was Mike's dismissive reply.

"Excuse me." Mary broke in "But why are you suddenly so keen to see me anyway? I mean, if it's been ten years, then why pick now to come and see me?"

Sully made as if he was going to approach her, before stopping several feet short of the bed and saying whilst looking her straight in the eyes:

"Boo I would've visited you every single night if I could have. If I hadn't been made CEO of the company, then nothing would have stopped me from seeing you. But I was made CEO and I couldn't visit you every single night even though I wanted to more than anything. Perhaps I could've made more of an effort, but I was so confident that you'd always be there, that I'd open your closet door and it would be like no time had passed. I guess part of me still expected you to be a three year old with pigtails. But then I found out that you were going to be moving. That pretty soon another child would be living in your bedroom and I panicked. I had to see you one last time before you left and I never had another chance. I know you're scared and that it's my fault. I will never intentionally scare you and I still want to be your friend, but you'll have to trust me. Do you trust me?"


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"_Do you trust me?"_

Those words had been rattling around Mary's brain since the two monsters had called it a night and left her. She sighed and turned over again, trying to block Sully's heartfelt words from her head, but they wouldn't leave her alone. After he had asked her this question she had sat in silence for what seemed like forever, trying to figure it out. I mean she was less afraid now, definitely and it was obvious that she had once been close to him. But could she trust him? In the end she had had to admit that she had no idea, making Sully's face crumple for just a second before he covered it up with a smile and relaxed acceptance. Shortly afterwards they had gone back home. Mary huffed impatiently; she was tired and wanted to sleep. The only reason she wasn't was that she kept _**thinking**_. Carefully sliding out of bed, she tiptoed to her schoolbag and brought out her mp3 player then climbed back into bed. She set the volume on low and her favourite songs to play on a loop. With this help, she slowly drifted off, her body relaxing for the first time that evening.

_In Monstropolis…_

Sully yawned for the thousandth time and tried to look interested in whatever this manufacturing company was trying to pitch. He surreptitiously looked down at his notes. Oh, new laugh containers. He had hardly been able to sleep last night because he spent the whole time beating himself up about asking Boo if she trusted him. What a stupid question for him to have asked. She couldn't even remember him for god's sake! In her mind they had only seen each other twice and the first time she had been paralysed with fear. What was he gonna –

"So what do you think Mr Sullivan?" He was jerked out of his musing by the salesmonster in front of him.

"Oh I-I think that um, it looks, uh, that is, um..."

"As vice president of the company I think it would be great to invest in these new laugh containers because, as you said, they can hold up to ten per cent more than our current ones." Mike interrupted his ramblings and Sully shot him a look of gratitude before agreeing:

"Absolutely, I completely agree with my vice's judgement. We'll be getting back to you on this gentleman." He ushered the monsters out before collapsing back into his chair, running his paw through his hair.

"Thanks for that Mike. My mind's all over the place today."

"No problem buddy. I guess I don't need to ask you where your mind's been."

"No." Sully sighed "I'm starting to think it would've been better if I'd have just left her alone."

_Mary's Room…_

Mary sat cross legged in front of the box on her bedroom floor, her damp hair tied back out of the way. She peeled off the sellotape that bound it shut and bunched it up then tossed it aside, grimacing when the sticky stuff came off on her hands.

On opening the box, the first thing she saw was a beautiful quilt that she remembered from when she was a child…or perhaps her mum had told her about it? Either way it was lovely. She lifted it carefully out and laid it next to her then turned to face the rest of the box's contents. There was a mix of children's books, old dolls; some with their hair tangled beyond recognition, painted faces faded, some in near perfect condition, there were baby clothes and Mary smiled as she fingered the soft material and made the tiny boots dance on her fingers. She then placed those things on top of the quilt. The only things left in the box now were her old teddy bear and a plastic envelope. She hugged the bear to her chest for a moment, inhaling the faint scent of baby powder that still lingered before setting it aside and turning to the folder.

Inside was what looked like several pieces of paper, and when she slid them out she saw that they were old drawings. The first was a house surrounded by wobbly flowers and three stick figure people standing in front of it, labelled 'mum', 'dad' and 'me'. The next one was a brown and white puppy with a big red tongue and Mary smiled, vaguely remembering her overwhelming desire for a puppy. However the next one was quite different. The picture was of a three year old her…and the two monsters that had recently become very familiar to her. Her grip tightened on the fragile piece of paper as she stared at it in shock. As she leant in to look closer, a faint whiff of wet dog reached her and she gasped as she was overwhelmed by a tidal wave of memories: running down grey corridors, making the lights go out when she laughed, playing hide and seek in a bathroom, a small green ball of a monster making jokes and a big blue monster. The one who saved her from the scary purple lizard, who made her feel safe and had become her friend. As Mary returned to the present her face felt frozen and there were tears on her cheeks.

Everything had changed.


	7. Chapter 7

_A.N. Sorry it took so long, I've been studying hard for my A Levels (one down three to go!) and have recently started driving lessons so have been quite busy. I also wasn't sure how I was going to continue and I'm still not sure if this was the right way to go. Who knows? I may even write an alternative chapter to this. This might be the penultimate chapter, but again I'm not sure. Don't worry I haven't forgotten you!_

**Chapter 7**

Mary didn't know how long she sat in silence just staring into space, still clutching the drawing in her shaking hands. It felt like her whole world had changed and she didn't know how to feel. As time went by, more and more memories filtered in: sleeping in the biggest bed she'd ever seen, catching cereal in her mouth, playing with a one eyed bear, riding on a door through a crazy rollercoaster…Sully and Mike had been telling her the truth! There was no doubt about that, but what should she do next?

_In Monstropolis…_

Mike grinned triumphantly as he shut the door behind him. Another day's work was done and he had filled his quota twice over. It sure was easier to make kids laugh than it was to make 'em scream. Humming to himself he trotted down the corridor and approached Sully's office. He knocked on the door and let himself in.

"Hey Sull, you ready to go?" His smile faded as he saw Sully's dejected expression. "What's wrong?"

"I don't think there's any point in going back, she's never gonna remember us. It hurts too much Mikey!" He buried his head in his paws. Mike went over to him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Ok Sull, I get it. But let's just go back one more time. I mean, you at least wanna say goodbye right? Plus, she's expecting us!"

Sully sighed, "Fine, just one more time though." Mike grinned.

"Let's go then!"

_In Mary's Room…_

Mary slowly dressed for bed. She had been to look at the new house with her parents but had hardly been able to concentrate on it. She had been too busy thinking about Sully and Mike. Wondering if they'd come back. It didn't seem likely after the way she had crushed Sully last night but she could only hope. Now that she knew who they were she felt an overwhelming urge to see them, even though a part of her was still slightly wary. She didn't know how to approach them now. She pulled the scrunchie out of her hair and let it fall over her shoulders. 'And now I wait'.

_Monstropolis…_

Sully took a deep breath and put one paw on the doorknob, then paused and turned to Mike.

"She's still scared of me. You'd better go first." Mike nodded and opened the door, sticking his head around.

"Hey kid."

The door creaked open and Mary's head shot up to see Mike peering around the door. She couldn't help but smile. It felt like someone had grabbed the corners of her mouth and pulled. Mike seemed a bit startled by her smile and blinked for a minute before smiling back and coming in. Sully followed more slowly. Mary's breath caught in her throat as her heart filled with love at the sight of her friend. Her eyes filled with tears as a name flew to her lips and she whispered:

"Kitty." Sully's eyes widened and his jaw dropped.

"W-what did you just call me?" He walked a few paces forward and knelt at the foot of her bed, staring at her.

"I – I remember. I found an old drawing and I remembered everything. Look!" She picked up the picture from next to her and with a shaking hand gave it to him. He looked at the picture carefully, his smile growing bigger as Mary explained how she found the drawing and the memories that it evoked.

"So, is it ok for me to get closer now?" Sully asked. Mary nodded and the he shuffled forwards until he was right at the end of her bed and they were almost nose to nose. Mary hesitantly put out her hand and after drawing back a couple of times, placed it on his cheek, feeling the rough fur between her fingers.

Sully kept very still, barely even blinking as Boo stroked his cheek and he felt a flame of hope spring up inside of him. He saw her smile widen and her shoulders relax and unable to restrain himself, swept her up off the bed into a huge bear hug. She gave a surprised squeak, but didn't resist and he felt her arms go around him. He swung her around in a circle, hearing Mike whoop and laugh in celebration. He set Boo gently on the floor and stepped back, still smiling. She smiled back and then turned to Mike, hugging him too.

"Hello Mike Wazowski!"

"Hey kid." He said gently hugging her back. "It's good to have you back."


	8. Chapter 8: Alternate Ending

_A.N. My loyal reviewer __Quavera Tava gave me the idea that I should write one or more alternate endings to the story. I think that it is a great idea and so this is what I have decided to do. I have also decided that I am going to write one epilogue. So, I'm going to make a poll for you to vote which ending I write an epilogue for. _

**Chapter 8 – Alternate Ending**

Mike knocked on the office door and opened it, smiling when he saw Sully sitting at the desk.

"Hey Sull, you ready to go?"

"I'm not going Mike." Sully said, avoiding his friend's gaze.

"What? I thought you really wanted to get her to warm up to you."

"I don't think that's such a good idea. She still doesn't remember anything and I don't wanna push her."

"But…Sully, she was warming up to you I swear she was."

"I don't think so Mike. She's still so scared, I don't wanna be the reason that she's scared."

"But Sully-"

"No buts Mike! I'm not going and that's that!" Mike sighed, closing his one eye and then looked at his friend.

"Ok Sully, it's up to you. We leave the kid alone."

"Good." Sully nodded.

"Well, see you then." Mike said retreating. Once he had left the room, Sully put down his pen and sighed, leaning his head on his hands. In truth he wanted nothing more than to go and spend the evening with Boo, trying to prompt her memory. But he still remembered the look in her eyes. The distrust, the fear and he couldn't stand it. She'd grown up so fast; he hadn't been able to believe his eyes when he had seen her. Though of course his surprise had been immediately overshadowed by concern when he had seen that she was lying on the floor. Suddenly, he was overwhelmed with an impulse to run and see her. But no! Enough was enough. He had a mounting pile of paperwork and he hadn't slept at home in days. Sighing he picked up his pen again and got down to work.

_Mary's Room…_

Mary sat on her bed, eagerly awaiting the return of her two monsters. They hadn't said for sure that they would be back but she was sure they would. She couldn't wait to tell them that she remembered.

As time passed she felt her eyelids drooping and shook herself to try and stay awake. It was almost midnight. They were very late. She read her book to try and keep her brain active but the pages blurred and she felt her eyes slowly closing. Her head rolled forward and the book fell into her lap.

Mary opened her eyes and lifted her head, wincing as a sharp pain shot through her neck. Rubbing it she blinked blearily at her alarm clock, feeling a pang of sorrow when she saw it was eight in the morning.

"They didn't come." She whispered feeling like someone had punched her in the stomach. A minute later her mum knocked on the door.

"Come in!" she called.

"Hi honey, I just wanted to talk to you about the house your dad and I saw yesterday? We think it could be the one."

"Really?" Mary asked, her interest peaked; her mum was a known perfectionist and Mary thought it too good to be true that her mum had found something that she liked so quickly.

"Yeah, it has everything I wanted. We're gonna take another look later today do you want to come with us this time?"

"Sure. I mean I want to know what my new home will look like."

"Ok then, we're going at about 11 so be ready."

_One month later…_

"Well, that's the last of it." Mary said to herself as she taped the final box shut. She sat back on her heels and looked around her bare room. The rest of her stuff had been gradually packed over the last week; this box was just the necessities. She was really going to miss this house.

"Mary! Time to go!" Her dad yelled up the stairs.

"Coming!"

Mary took one more look around the room and then stopped, her eyes resting on the closet. A lump caught in her throat and she felt a familiar pang of grief as she thought about her friends. They had never come back and now…she wouldn't have a chance to say goodbye. She reached out and gently touched the smooth wood.

"Goodbye." She whispered. Then took a deep breath, blinked away the tears that threatened to spill and walked out.

_In Monstropolis…_

Sully took a deep breath as he stood outside Boo's door. It had been a month since he had last seen her and he had finally decided to give in and try again. But now that he was standing in front of her door he was nervous. What would he say? What would _she _say? Would she be upset? Slam the door in his face for being such a lousy friend? Would too much time have passed, sending them back to square one? There was only one way to find out. Swallowing his fears, Sully reached out and gently turned the doorknob.

He peeped round and seeing the room in darkness, slowly opened it. His breath caught in his throat. Empty. The room was empty. There was no trace that Boo or anyone else had ever been there. He looked around wildly, for any sign, any clue of what had happened. He found none. But where could she have gone? He was broken out of his musings by a distant slam. He darted to the window and saw Boo! She was carrying a box and heading for a car.

"BOO!" He shouted desperately and struggled with the tiny catch on the window. "BOO! He tried again, but she didn't hear him and he could only watch as the car reversed onto the road and drove away. He turned from the window and slumped to the floor, burying his head in his hands.

Boo was gone. He was too late.


	9. Epilogue 1

**A.N: This is the epilogue for the happy ending that I wrote. Sorry it took so long; major writers block. I will be writing an epilogue for the sad ending as well. Enjoy!**

**Epilogue 1**

"That's the last of it." Mary announced as she closed the lid of the cardboard box and secured it with tape .She stood up straight, flipping her hair back. "I never realised how much stuff I had." She grinned and turned to face the two monsters sitting on her bed, her smile fading as she met their melancholy expressions.

"Come on guys. You look like someone's died." She knelt down in front of them, taking one of Sully's claws in both of her hands. He looked at her and smiled, despite the tears building in his eyes.

"I'm gonna miss you Boo. I wish I had come back to see you sooner, I've only just got you back and now I've got to let you go again." He looked down at their clasped hands and closed his eyes, unable to stop the tears from falling.

Mary felt the tears drop on her hands and squeezed his, before climbing onto his lap and putting her arms around him. He leant his head against hers and she felt the tears dripping into her hair

"Don't cry." She said softly. "Just because we won't be able to see each other doesn't mean that we can't stay friends. Besides, who knows? You might find my new door." She knew that this was unlikely but she said it.

"Yeah that's right!" Mike exclaimed with sudden enthusiasm "We'll go through all the doors until we find yours!" She laughed at the absurdity of his statement whilst fighting the lump in her throat.

"Oh Mike!" she eventually gasped "If only that was possible." Before he could reply, there was a shout from downstairs.

"Mary! Time to go!"

"Coming!" she shouted back, sliding off of Sully's lap. The two monsters got up from the bed and the three of them faced each other.

"Well, so long kid." Mike said holding out a hand. Mary smiled and ignored it, hugging him tightly. "I'll miss you Mike Wazowski." She then turned to Sully who opened his arms. They hugged tightly, only breaking apart when Mary's mum called her again.

"Goodbye. I'll miss you both. So much."

"Goodbye Boo."

Wiping away her tears, Mary shouldered her bag and stepped out of the door, turning briefly with one last, longing look at her friends and closed it behind her.

Down in the car, Mary gazed out of the window without focussing and only when her dad started the engine did she catch a glimpse of movement from her window: Sully and Mike were standing (or kneeling in Sully's case) at the window, waving. She waved enthusiastically back, only stopping when they were out of sight. She leaned back in her seat with a sigh. She would always miss them, but this had been the happiest month of her life.


	10. Epilogue 2

_A.N. Well here it is; the final instalment of 'This is Not Goodbye'. This is the epilogue to the sad alternate ending I wrote. It turned out a bit darker than I thought it would. Thanks for being so nice and helpful about my story. Now, enjoy!_

**Epilogue 2**

Sully slammed the door shut and leant against it breathing rapidly. That had been a close one. He stood there for a few minutes longer, letting his heart rate calm down before heaving himself up and sending the door back. The card key sitting innocently in the station seemed to be mocking him by the fact that it didn't belong to Boo's door. This alone ignited his fragile temper and with a roar he attacked it, ripping it out of the slot and throwing it to the floor, before moving onto the station itself, seizing it with both claws and attempting to wrench it out of the floor. This madness only ended when he caught sight of himself reflected in the metal and froze in horror.

'_I'm becoming the thing she was scared of.' _

As soon as this thought popped into his head, all of the anger seemed to evaporate and he was left exhausted. Slumping to the floor he let his head hang and closed his aching eyes.

It had been ten years since he had decided not to go back to visit Boo and missed his chance of saying goodbye. Now he was just a shell of a monster, going through the motions all day at work and then spending all night hunting through the doors, determined to find his friend. But now he was truly alone; he had alienated himself from the rest of his co-workers. His behaviour had even pushed Mike away. Loyal Mike who had valiantly stuck with him for the first year of this obsessive searching was now as much of a stranger to him as any of the other monsters.

Heaving a sigh, Sully pushed himself to his feet and delicately picked up the crumpled card from the floor before drawing a red line across it. Tossing it into the bag with the rest of the 'rejects', he pulled the next card from the 'hopefuls' and swiped it.

There were only two hours until dawn and he had a lot of doors to search through.

Mary yawned as she walked into her room and pulled the door shut. She simultaneously kicked off her heels and pulled her long hair out of its clasp before collapsing onto her bed with a contented sigh. She loved her job as a Secondary School art teacher, but sometimes it was exhausting, especially on days like today when all of the kids seemed to be determined to wind her up by being as hyper as possible. Still, at least it was the holidays soon. Mary pushed herself off the bed with a groan, not wanting to fall asleep fully clothed and with an empty stomach again. As she reached for the closet door, she couldn't help but feel the familiar yet dulled frisson of anticipation and hope that today would be the day. That she would open the door and another world would be revealed. And even though she was expecting it, her stomach dropped slightly in disappointment when all that was revealed was her clothes. Shaking her head she placed her high heels next to her trainers and resolutely shut the closet door, all the while telling herself that she was no longer sad that Sully hadn't come back.

It had been ten years since Sully had left her room for the last time. She had grieved for a long time over him and worried her parents to death. They just hadn't been able to understand why she was so upset over moving house or why she had started crying when her mum asked her if she had slept well. They weren't to know that she had once again waited up for her monsters and then woken up to find that they hadn't been. For a while she had almost fallen into a depression; she was as white as a sheet with huge bags under her eyes, hardly ate and always seemed to be on the point of bursting into tears. Just as her parents were on the point of marching her to the doctors she had snapped out of it.

Mary smiled wryly as she remembered how gobsmacked her parents had been when she had arrived at the table with a smile and had eaten every bite of her breakfast. They had eventually come to the conclusion that it had been some teenage angst thing. The truth was that she had gotten so tired of hoping that they would come and then the overwhelming disappointment that followed. Now all that was left of that period of her life was the occasional thrill that she felt if an unusual noise woke her up. She was a grown up now after all.

She turned and resolutely walked out of her bedroom door. It was late and she had classes to teach tomorrow. Life had to go on.

_A.N. I was so tempted to write a happy ending; you know, Sully coming through her door, a tearful reunion etc. but reminded myself that this was the sad epilogue. Who knows? I may write a one shot/follow on story of it. Still, I'm happy with the way this turned out. Any thoughts?_


End file.
